REVIEW: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde delivers the sinister suspense

Village Theatre Waterdown’s version of the Robert Louis Stevenson story about the nature of good and evil is anchored by strong performances that create a gripping and atmospheric environment.

Village Theatre Waterdown is in the middle of its run of a most seasonally appropriate production. Based on a 2008 adaptation of 19th-century novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, the play explores the struggle between good and evil, reason and depravity, ignorance and knowledge, and the complexity of human nature itself. Directed by Nicholas Banks and stage managed by Joy Fournier with the assistance of Simon Immonen and Isadora Moraes, a solid ensemble of actors (several playing multiple roles) bring a suspenseful and well-coordinated drama to the stage.

Concord Theatricals summarizes the story in this way: “On the fog-bound streets of Victorian-era London, Henry Jekyll’s experiments with exotic ‘powders and tinctures’ have brought forth his other self – Edward Hyde, a sensualist and villain free to commit the sins Jekyll is too civilized to comprehend. When Hyde meets a woman who stirs his interest, Jekyll fears for her life and decides to end his experiments. But Hyde has other ideas, and so the two sides battle each other in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse to determine who shall be the master and who his slave.” 

Stevenson, the well-known Scottish novelist, poet, and essayist, was the original author of  the story about a morally principled scientist, Dr. Jekyll and his harrowing alter-ego, Mr. Hyde. Stevenson graduated with a law degree but never practised, instead spending his life travelling and writing. He wrote many accounts of those travels, which included time in America, the Mediterranean, and other parts of Europe. He married and returned to Scotland for a time but continued to travel in part to cope with chronic ill health. Among his most famous works are Treasure Island (1883), Kidnapped (1886), and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886). He died in Samoa in 1894.

Over the past century and a half, dozens of adaptations of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde have been created. The version Village Theatre is using was written by Jeffrey Hatcher, a multiple award-winning American playwright and screenwriter who has written and adapted dozens of plays, films, and television episodes over the course of his career. Most notably, Hatcher co-wrote the play for Tuesdays with Morrie with its author, Mitch Albom. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde premiered in Tucson, Arizona with the Arizona Theatre Company. For his efforts, Hatcher received a nomination from the Mystery Writers of America for an Edgar Award for Best Play.

The San Francisco Chronicle wrote of Hatcher’s adaptation that it was “a smart, tense and suspenseful new take on Stevenson’s look at the evil that lurks in the hearts of men.” While I was watching the Waterdown production the very same phrasing came suddenly to mind, testament to the sinister tone achieved by the proceedings onstage. I recalled the opening line of the old radio drama I used to listen to on CHUM FM on Sunday nights: “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows.” 

During the play, Jekyll recounts his hypotheses about the human psyche, arguing that there are complex layers to every man’s mind; some motivations exist on the surface of consciousness while others, perhaps more primal and uncontrolled by morality, pulse in the depths of the unconscious. During the play it becomes increasingly clear that knowledge of Hyde’s darkness and violence is breaking through Jekyll’s subconscious, to his ever-growing distress.

The notion that evil lurks within the hearts of all men – and women – is also reflected on the walls of the theatre and the props onstage. Victims of murder are written all over, women and men, modern and historical, from various countries and cultures. These names are never overtly explained. On reflection, it seemed to me to reflect the universality of good and evil, and the risk and trust involved in living within a society. There is always the chance that, unchecked, the immoral and savage inclinations of one individual will emerge to undermine the lives of others and bring horror to a community.

With Adam Fleming’s performance as Dr. Henry Jekyll, the audience members are spectators to Jekyll’s gradual unraveling as he embodies a growing sense of unease, disgust, and fear at his alter-ego’s actions. We see his mental torment and even physical pain. Near the beginning of the play, we observe his vocal disgust at the crude treatment of a corpse by Sir Danvers Carew (Mike Tadic) because of her sex and low social position. And yet, near the end, we see Jekyll making morally questionable bargains in the desperate attempt to save his own life. Jekyll has made an experiment of his own psyche (presumably to avoid exploiting others), but reaps horrific consequences. 

A fascinating aspect of this version of the story is that Edward Hyde retains a shred of goodness within his wretched hide. As the Arizona Daily Star wrote, “the dark Hyde indeed comes out, and he is evil beyond measure. But not all evil: He loves, and is loved…Hatcher has written a play that honors the original, but gives a more complex interpretation of the dual nature of man.” 

Fleming’s castmate Muneer Malik-Noor (Dr. H.K. Lanyon / Mr. Hyde #3 / Ensemble) is the main version of Hyde that we encounter as he metamorphoses from the jovial Scottish colleague Dr. Lanyon to the psychotic, aggressive fiend. His coldness, his violence, his disdain for others, but also the emotional strain he feels at the play’s climax, are all palpable. 

Hyde is played by different cast members at different points of the play (Jerrold Karsh, Tadic, Malik-Noor and Bianca Cabai). This is rather confusing at first, but gradually becomes clearer. This seemed reflective of the theme of good and evil as existing within every person, therefore multiple Hydes take their turn.

I was pleased to see both Malik-Noor and Tina Aurora (Elizabeth) in this production. They have performed together in several local plays in the last few years, including Dundas Little Theatre’s Much Ado About Nothing. I do wish Hatcher’s script had provided a clearer sense of motivation for Elizabeth’s feelings for Hyde. Is Elizabeth motivated purely by empathy? By a misguided desire to “fix” him? By a notion that he might provide one of the only pathways out of her limited life prospects? Many good women have cared for bad men, it’s true. But why does she stay when everyone else knows to give Hyde a wide berth?

Each member of the cast assists with the many scene changes and adjustments of the set. The frequency by which the boxes and cubes were dragged around the set was a little distracting, and I do wish they could find a way to anchor the London streetlights in a completely upright position. However, especially considering most of the cast each played three to four roles, they all turn in solid performances and build a sufficiently gripping and atmospheric environment for the story to unfold. Rounding out the cast list is Boyd Blundell, Julie Buffet, and Dania Homsi.

Waterdown’s production of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde provides a well-paced drama that holds the audience’s attention with rising tension, creepy moments, and even a few laughs.

NEED TO KNOW

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Continues Nov. 6, 7, 13, 14, 7: 30 p.m. as well as November 8 and 15, 2 p.m. (Sunday matinee)
Village Theatre Waterdown, Memorial Hall
317 Dundas St. East, Waterdown
Tickets: $25 
Tickets here or available at the door (starting 45 minutes before showtime)
Run time: 2 hours, plus a 20 minutes intermission
Audience Advisory: This show contains mature subject matter, flash/strobe lighting effects, dry ice fog effects and haze, loud noises and implied violence/death.